Winning blow: rook to g6 (g2)
c9-06720naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 780 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
This position hides a concrete tactic that wins material or mates. Start with the most forcing candidate moves — checks, captures and threats — and calculate each to a clear end before choosing; the winning line is usually the one the opponent cannot meet.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen e1, rook f1 g2, bishop a1, knight c1, pawn a2 d2 b4 f4 h4 c5 e5.
Black: king e7, queen e8, rook g6 f8, bishop b8, knight e6 f7, pawn b5 h5 c6 a7 d7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 16.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (32 against 33; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on e7.
It is White to move on move 16, with 26 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
16. Rxg6 Nh8 17. Rf6 Rg8+ 18. Kh2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g6 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Spot on — rook to f6 (+3.7).
- A natural move: king to h2.
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Nh8, then Rg3 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 16. Rxg6 — rook to g6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #32.
SP-32 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on g1, the rooks on f1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on g2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 927.
The engine's main line opens with h4.
Morozov Balance Index: 4 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +50 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #32Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 003 · SP-32
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